How companies steal IP from developers
You have spent a lot of time creating your IP and you don't want your customers to steal it. Keep an eye on these two conditions so that no one will demand money for what you have created.
Feedback is the information, suggestions, questions and complaints that the customer gives to the Developer during the use of the Software. As a Developer it is in your interest to have a license from the Customer on that information in order to make improvements to the Software.
If you use your Customer's ideas to innovate and improve the Software, the Customer may be tempted to claim that those improvements are his invention, since they come from the Feedback he communicates to you.
Protect the Feedback from your clients
If you are the party receiving the feedback, that's great. However, if you are the Client giving the feedback, you have to be careful not to transmit confidential information or Intellectual Property of yours to the other party because the Developer will use it 100%.
Before sending forms and surveys, be very clear about what kind of feedback is transmitted and what the communications are like. The feedback license clause is often very broad and vague, leaving much to the interpretation of the parties.
The problem is that there is confusion with what the parties consider Intellectual Property, as ideas alone are not considered Intellectual Property, they cannot be patented, they are not copyrighted. However, in order to be protected, ideas have to be converted into texts, drawings, designs; therefore, Intellectual Property can be extracted from mere ideas.
An interesting clause for the person who agrees to receive the feedback would be: “The Developer shall not treat any of the ideas it receives from the Feedback as Confidential Information and may use, distribute and exploit such information without the other party being able to demand financial compensation”.
This clause only confirms that there is no Confidentiality Agreement on the information referred to as Feedback.
What if Feedback is mine?
When you develop technology for the customer and the customer uses it, it is likely that your customer will put your logo on the software or that the customer will use your logo while using the software. Even more so when your Client is a company, whose customers have access to the technology.
As a Developer it is in your interest that your Logos and Trademarks are as protected as your Source Code. Logos are vital in order to stand out from the competition of Developers working in the industry, and add the added value stamp that the product is created with your care, detail and attention.
If your Clients put their Logos on your products, your Clients' customers will think that you were not the creator of the product, but someone else, losing recognition in the market. Also, if your Clients use your Logos on their products, and the products are horrible, the Market will think you are a bad Developer.
Between you and your Client, it must be made clear that with the Software license you are not transferring any right to use your Trademark, since it is dangerous for the Developer that your Client uses the Logos in an unauthorized way.
Branding and Images
Using Licenses and Contracts with your Clients creates a protection framework against unauthorized use of Trademarks and Logos. It allows your Client not to transmit your Logo to third parties, diluting your identifying sign like a drop in the Ocean.
If the trademark license can be freely transmitted without control, one day you may lose the ownership of the trademark because it is not being defended.
If Micky Mouse were freely used and Disney did not defend its exclusive right, Disney would lose the ownership of Micky Mouse.